A Great and Terrible Beauty Part 2: Wedding
by Underworld's Darkest Rose
Summary: When Gemma found Kartik in America, they came back to India to start a new life. Kartik and Gemma got married and now own a home on a large piece of land outside Mumbai. Perfect, until someone from the realms escapes!


Kartik opens the door to my new home for me. I gasp in surprise. It is big, not too big, but big enough for me. There are a million different flowers everywhere. The walls are white, like the outside of the house. The garden stretches over a long acre or so. And nearby is a lovely town. And not too far from the town is Mumbai, a very modern city. Kartik had chosen the best of all homes for me.

"Kartik, it's beautiful! Look, the fountain is just like the one at Spence Academy! And the pillars make it all look like a palace. It's perfect for you and I." I smiled brightly at Kartik. Kartik slid his hand from my shoulder to my waist.

"Perfect because you are." He said warmly. He pulled me in close. He led me inside, where everything was already in place. He tilted my head upwards. I smiled. The ceiling had a long chandelier hanging down from it. the crystal designs hung right above where I was standing.

"Thank you, Kartik." I said. And I really meant it. He sat me down on one of the large sofas.

"So, about our wedding, I was thinking we should have it in an Indian temple maybe, or an old castle!" Kartik said, his voice was filled with pleasure. I knew how much getting married to me meant to him.

"I think we should get married at an Indian temple, one of Lord Shiva, I believe shall be nice. Since his symbol is the snake, that kind of goes along with the realms, don't you think?" I asked. He laughed.

"Intelligent, yes it does go with the realms." Kartik sighed. I could hint some kind of regret in his voice. He stared up at me with an expression I couldn't read. My eyes asked my question for me.

"Being wed to you will cause many problems for me, Gemma. People don't like it here. They think I should have gotten married to a merchant's girl a long time ago. But I said no, of course. They will definitely hate us both now for this." He said, regret was deep in his tone now. I squeezed his hand. And as much as I hated saying this, I said it.

"You don't have to get married to me. You can still marry an Indian girl. One who has great hair and eyes, and can sing like a bird." I laughed, but it wasn't a real laugh, it was obviously too fake. His hands brushed my cheek.

"Gemma, I want to marry you and only you. I love you, nobody can change that. Not even a beautiful singer or a billionaire!" Kartik said very seriously. He was being overprotective about my feelings again.

"Then we can fight off the angry people together. We can make every day a good one together. No matter what differences come in our way. All that matters is I love you, and you love me. We are still people, and that fact is our greatest ally." I said in a low but fierce tone. I was surprised to hear such wisdom come out of my mouth, but liked how I said it.

Today was the wedding. Only our closest friends were here. We were in a very large temple of Shiva. It was decorated in flowers and petals of all sorts. Felicity was here in her finest gown. She had come all the way from Paris just for me. And Ann had taken a break from her acting to come down to see me. She looked beautiful. She glowed with her happiness. And Father was here, so was Tom. And some of Kartik's relatives and people from the Rakshana.

And now the wedding had begun. I sat around a holy fire, I was in a traditional Indian wedding dress. It was long and scarlet red. It had little silver designs that sparkled in the sun. The scarf that I took over my head matched the dress. My hands had been designed with henna. The flower patterns made my hands look like they did from my vision. I was wearing tons of makeup, and all of it made me look like a pretty Indian bride. The flowers in my hair had a very light fragrance to them.

All of my friends were wearing Indian dresses too, they had tried some on and thought about selling them in Paris. I was glad they liked all of this and approved of it.

The wedding was soon over. The flower girls had finally stopped the rain of petals that fell upon us all. I finally turned to say goodbye to my friends and family, not permanently though.

"Goodbye Tom, I'll miss you. I'll visit you in the winter, Dad." I said, hugging them both lightly. I was proud to say that my dad had grown strong once more. Still an opium addict, but he has had less ever since I found him in the den that day months ago. He had probably felt terrible that I had seen him in such a condition. And now he tried to resolve his addiction because of me. In a way, I didn't care whether he endangered his life again by the poison. It would be better for him to do as he wished. Not listen to me because of embarrassment.

"You'll be happy, I know you will." Tom said, and for once, his voice was truthful and caring. He squeezed my hand. Then he patted my back and gave Father room to talk to me. Father hung his head.

"Gemma, I'm truly sorry for whatever I have done in the past. I'm ever so sorry, really I am. And if I have caused you any worry-" He said, but was able to finish without sniffles. I took his sweaty hand and held it there.

"Dad…You have worried me everyday of my life. Ever since Mom left. I care about you Dad, I really do. I don't want to loose you like Mom. But this is your life. You can go back to your addictions if it truly helps you. I can see what a wrecking temptation it creates whenever you even think about it. And don't be sorry. All daughters worry about their fragile Dads! I love you." I said. I was glad that was over with. The skinny man who was my father was not a sight I wanted to remember. What I did want to remember was the full person that used to be Dad. The one who went on adventures. And then come home and tell his tales with more power than any storyteller. The Dad who used to create wonderful tales in my head. Ones of tigers and ancient temples. But that man no longer existed.

"I love you too, my gem. More than you ever realized." He said. He and Tom then turned, leaving me. They were to go back to England in a half hour. Now I went to Felicity and Ann. They were very excited.

"Wow! Your wedding was so exotic! I loved it. But you have to promise me one thing, Gemma. You will come to at least one of my shows right?" Ann asked me. She was clinging to my side. As if she couldn't bear leaving me. I laughed.

"Of course I'll come! I'll come this year maybe, or the next. But I will come. And I'll see you too, Fee." I said. Felicity smiled at me.

"I'll miss you so much! I hope your happy here. I don't have to hope actually, I know you will be." Felicity said then she surprisingly hugged me. I thought I saw a hint of a tear on her cheek. But it was gone just as fast as it came.

"You're not crying are you?" I asked, jokingly. Felicity dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

"No…Alright, I am. But only because I can't believe it's all over. All of our realms and adventures. They're all over! We'll barley be together. And Pippa, I can't help but cry every night about what happened to her. Especially because of my…Feelings for her." Felicity whispered the last part. I patted her back.

"It's all right. I heard there are more of your type in Paris." Ann said, trying to assure her. felicity managed a smile from her stream of tears now.

"Oh I know." She said, getting her spirit back. Then she suddenly jumped straight.

"Oh my! Ann, our train leaves in ten minutes!" She cried. This alarmed the others about their train rides back. Suddenly, we were getting rushed goodbyes. We did our best to be sad about their leaving.

"Alone at last." Kartik sighed as we entered our house. He wisped me into his arms and kissed my forehead. Then he carried me to our bedroom. I hadn't noticed, but the wedding had taken absolutely all day! It was very dark outside. But the lights shone brightly, making the house feel like it was still day. Kartik threw me onto the bed.

Then he crawled up to me. I pulled him close to me. I traced his lips with my fingers. Then I pulled him even closer for a kiss. His lips moved with mine. It was a long kiss. I wasn't able to breathe after a while. I gasped for breath. There wasn't a part of my body now that wasn't in contact with his. Even he panted, his wide chest moving in and out evenly.

"I love you. Too much for words." He said. He stroked my hair elegantly. I curled my fingers into his thick hair. It was softer than usual. In fact, something did not seem to be normal, not about Kartik at all, but about me. There was a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. The feeling sparked. It was definitely magic!

Somehow an hour had passed and I had been dizzy with Kartik's sweet scent. The moon was slowly rising. Kartik had left to set up some special marriage surprise for me. I stood by the window, staring at the full moon. It sort of drew me in. I walked towards it slowly.

I opened the door and went outside to the porch. I could hear faint footsteps! I walked down the dirt path, towards the footsteps. Could this be something from the realms? Maybe!

"Congratulations, Gemma." A sweet, but low voice called. I gasped in pain. Something was slicing through me! I didn't even have time to notice that Pippa stood, towering over me as I lay writhing on the ground.

"Pippa." I managed to gasp. She laughed at my attempt. The slicing stopped. But only because Kartik was behind me, his hand pointed at Pippa as if they both had magic and were fighting with it.

"What is going on?" I asked, glaring at my former best friend. She grinned a devious grin that showed her perfectly shiny, sharp teeth. Her once violet eyes were milky and evil like the Winterlands again. Her eyes drifted to the full moon.

"It's simple to guess what is going on, Gemma. Kartik got out of the realms, so did I. You forgot to seal the most important escape from the realms. You forgot to seal the moon, Gemma. An exit you had never known about." She laughed sharply. Just with her eyes, she flung Kartik out of the way. She now stared at me. I felt sharp pain once again, but this time, it wasn't slicing. It was taking my soul away…


End file.
